298 replies to this topic

[gingerjon]

All ordered thanks.....EliseParts were cheaper for the suspension top hats if anyone else needs them

[gingerjon]

Well, It's been a while!!

 

Infact, the last tax disk ran out in September 2011....that means she has been off the road for 3 years. this sudden realisation has made me want it working even more!! Someone recently said on here "If a project has taken less that a year, its been done hastily"....good....that means i'm still alright!!!

 

A house move is taking over my life at the moment so time at the workshop has been limited. However, the light at the end of the tunnel is the new house finally has a garage so the car will come home.

 

Since then move was confirmed i have begun reassembling a lot of the car ready to move it. A couple of purchases on the way have helped get further towards the end goal.

 

Interior is 3/4's there, new seats courtesy of Tail Slides unfortunate incident have been installed. I am going to eventually change the orange parts of the seats to red with DTT but need quotes and time 1st so it will be next year. The reflock of the dash is much better but still not perfect so i will give it another application. the radio blank dash is on and i have reverted back to the original switches for now just to save time.

 

The Scan Gauge and Shift lights are also now in place. I have fitted the base carpet but not the sides yet. I will be getting the Carbon Sills from Ultimate Carbon but have not got round to it yet!!

 

Please excuse the dust in all the pictures....workshop is next to a bodyshop 

 

 

Although i have spent months and fortune on the rear coupe element of the car, i thought i would at least try it out with the OEM bits to see if i could get it back on the road!!

 

Opinions are welcome.....sort of 

 

 

Bit of nostalgia! 

 

[gingerjon]

Ooooooor, with the coupe section :

 

 

I must say the car is in as much of one piece as it has been for years and with the engine all working then its really got me excited to finish again as i did lose heart along the way.

 

The upgrades i have spent money on have been vast, some are still not even fitted yet!! But a colour change will be on the cards and a plan for the engine is also in its early stages. It will come to the new house in a month or so hopefully, which i can work on it in the evenings too....the Mrs is thrilled!!!

 

I'm not finished with the bodywork either, louvres to be fitted and this :

 

 

Which i hope will give me the Elise esq "Open" rear for when the new exhaust is made. Another pile of work but, with the lights stick in place, the interior in and the engine running......the countdown to the re-launch in Spring is well and truly on!!!

 

Just need to beat GL now 

[Graeme Lambert]

..the countdown to the re-launch in Spring is well and truly on!!!   Just need to beat GL now 

Spring you say? Could be close. No house move for me (though MBR is moving), just a wedding to organise - and pay for

[Gedi]

Haha I have an imminent wedding and a house move on the horizon too. Why do we do these projects at such inconvenient times

 

Jon, I've been looking at your last pic for a while now and I can't quite work it out. It's either a fookin massive splitter, or maybe something to make the way the coupe meets the bodywork a little less jarring? Give us a clue

[gingerjon]

The last picture...ahh yes, then one i thought looked better before i uploaded it!!

 

Its a rear valance off an S2 exige. I plan to trim the edges and top and then......cut, yes cut, my rear clam in line with the top of the exhaust exit currently and bond this in place to give me the "open" look which i actually really like on the exiges.

 

we'll see, if it all goes horribly wrong i'll just send it all to FLD to sort out!!

[Sticky]

Have tried the taller wing uprights? Got any pics of those?

[Potatoes]

Looking forward to seeing how that turns out

[Nev]

Glad it's coming together for you, could you possibly organise some help over a weekend from some locals VX owners, that might help get a load of things done. Good luck anyway. BTW, I think(?) I was joking when I said "If a project takes less than a year it's been done too hastily"! What I actually should have written was: "If a project takes less than a year then you are a lazy cuntpuffin" !! LOL

Edited by Nev, 16 November 2014 - 06:51 AM.

[Bargi]

If its closer for you give Joe at Trim Deluxe a call for your interior, really good guy and excellent job http://www.trimdeluxe.co.uk

[Bargi]

Excellent work!

[smiley]

Never seen one of these:

Where is it from?

[gingerjon]

Thanks Everyone,

 

Bargi i will check out the trimmer, thanks.

 

Nev, is that and offer haha yeah i think the revised statement is better....its been 3 years and i've barley touched the engine!!!

 

Nick, no, not yet actually, i will give the taller ones a try next time and grab some pictures, may help with the coupe clearance also!!

 

Smiley, its an S2 exige Hardtop with a wider front scoop bonded on. I would still like to use this as my roof but its a different shape at the end where it meets the coupe so is a fair bit of work.

 

[gingerjon]

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]Well, that was a slightly longer break than i had anticipated!! Even dropped to page 3 of the projects section! [/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]We moved house in December so most of my time was taken up decorating before Xmas and all things DIY! However all was good in the world, for the 1st time i had my own garage!! so the the workshop was packed up and the lease cancelled. The VX was put back together the most it had been i months and it was transported to the new house......I even managed to drive it on and the low loader. Progress indeed!!![/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]A makeshift workbench installed and everything put away in a new place, the car was finally home.[/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]I have accumulated a few bits over that few months, so the money pit gets even bigger. Ho Hum.[/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]The car has been started regularly but apart from that, not a lot of activity on it at all. The last time i ran it up to temperature however it suddenly starting coughing and spluttering and died. No dash lights fuel pump......nothing. I assumed Battery, so on charge it went overnight and today i thought she would spring into life.[/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]I have really got to stop lulling myself into that false sense of hope. [/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]So after the battery didn’t solve it, a search of .org showed me many different connections / fuses it could be....nothing seemed wrong, dead as a dodo. Suitably stressed by now i decided to skip on to the 1^st job of the day :[/color][/font]

 

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[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]I have been meaning to get a set of these for a while and was pleased when a set came up. I had replaced mine previously, but one side had been on for a while and it was only a matter of time before i went. A 20 minute job as usual turned into an hour and broken ratchet whrre i couldn’t get the bolt undone underneath in the box section. I finally got it, smashed my hand on the wishbone joint and counted to 10!!![/color][/font]

 

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[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]Excuse the mud....leaving the workshop took its toll.[/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]Onto the 2^nd side and a lot easier as i had done it recently.....although i did lose a socket in the box section. It was clearly to be one of those days!!! [/color][/font]

 

[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]I Love the VSE, its sound was lovely and i always enjoyed to popping, but with a view to the future i decided it best to be on the look out for an upgrade. It arrived in the form of a full Chris Tullet system with Re-Packable Back Box courtesy of Chill.[/color][/font]

 

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[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]With the clam being off to fit the exhaust i noticed the relays were in a  strange position as i usually tuck them in the boot when putting the clam back on[/color][/font]

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[font="arial, sans-serif;"][color=rgb(34,34,34);]And with that.....i think i found out why the car died and will not start!!!!  [/color][/font]

 

Edited by gingerjon, 22 February 2015 - 05:43 PM.

[gingerjon]

So i'll need new relays and hope thsat solves it! Didn't have them today so on with the jobs list.

 

Now, if you look really closely, you can just work out the slight difference in size between the backbox on the VSE compared to the Chris Tullet

New Manifold

 

All Installed!

Really looking forward to hearing how it sounds and compares to the VSE

 

As the downpipe is so much smaller with the Cat too....i will be able to fit the centre strut as it wouldn't fit before

 

Although i had my original rocker cover powder coated i came across a plastic version so swapped the round, there is a decent difference in the weight copmpared to the OEM.

 

[gingerjon]

I had cut the Badge out of the Front V some time ago when i vnyled it, but the gaps on the sides where the badge was were always annoying!!

 

When the car is sprayed the V will be going back on but i prefered it without the badge, so to fill the gaps :

 

Couple of persepx ofcuts

Glued into place and filled

Then Sanded Back

I'll give it another full wet and dry to remove the samder marks before its sprayed

 

We all know the VX lights are shocking. All my lugs were broken and the units rattling around inside so i though i would do a bit of trial and error with it.

 

I took the back off to get to all the gubbings

 

Removed all the broken plastic lugs and glue on the shell.

I had bought some rubber tubing and some Alu tubing, my plan is to glue the Alu tubing to the shell with the rubber tubing inside, then insert the round head bolts in to hold the units in place. Unfortunatly the alu tubing was too small so i thought i would try with just the hosing.

After the glue had dried i tried the units in the hosing

 

It worked......to a point. i think with the Alu tubing to hold it firmly it will work, just a case of lining everything up but glue hadn't dried enough when i tried i dont think so i will callit verison 1....and move on!

 

That was enough for today, back inside to watch Saints....spectacualy cock the job against Liverpool.....and hit eBay for some relays, a lamda Bung and some new Alu tubing!!

 

 

 

[FLD]

Good progress dude. You might need to take off that centre mount on your exhaust though. On the 3" system its before the flexi so causes cracks in the system. If its afer the flexi you should be OK.

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

It's a 2.5" matt But mine is a 3" are you saying I need to remove the first hanger bracket ?? Good work Jon 👍

[gingerjon]

Cheers Matt, I'm sorry, i ran out of time when i was up last week so didn't bother seeing when you were around as not to waste your time.

As Chill says its a 2.5" so hopefully alright!!

 

Cheers Chill, went on with ease, still cannot get over how much bogger it is!!

[FLD]

It's a 2.5" matt But mine is a 3" are you saying I need to remove the first hanger bracket ?? Good work Jon 👍

Yeah, I saw that but the problem still exists if its before the flexi. Same on yours chill. The engine moving weighs on the hanger and cracks the system.